Chickenpox & Shingles

Chicken Pox

• caused by a virus called varicella zoster

Symptoms

• start like a cold

• 1-2 days later rash appears ( pinkish dots that quickly develop a small blister on top)

• amount of chicken pox blisters vary person to person

• show up in waves

• after about 24-48 hours the blisters begin to become cloudy and crust over

• also may develop a stomachache and a fever

Spread

• contagious

• for the first 2-5 days

• can pass by coughing and sneezing

These tips can help you feel less itchy:

• Keep cool because heat and sweat will make you itch more. You might want to put a cool, wet washcloth on the really bad areas.

• Trim your fingernails, so if you do scratch, you won't tear your skin.

• Soak in a lukewarm bath. Adding some oatmeal to your bath water can help relieve the itching.

• apply calamine lotion, which soothes itching.

Avoid the itch

• chicken pox vaccine

• often given at age 1

typical case

severe case

Shingles(herpes zoster)

• painful,blistering skin rash

• caused by the same virus as the chicken pox

Symptoms

• rash (pain, itching, or tingling in the area 1-5 days before)

• blisters over in 7-10 days

• clears up within 2-4 weeks

• fever

• headache chills

• upset stomach

Treatment

• antiviral medicine (shortens the time period normally)

Expectations

• usually clears in 2-3 weeks

• rarely recurs

• may have temporary weakness or paralysis (if virus got to the motor nerves)

Complications

• postherpetic neuralgia (pain where the shingles used to be)

• Another attack of shingles

• Blindness (if shingles occurs in the eye)

• Deafness

• Infection, including encephalitis or sepsis (blood infection) in persons with weakened immune systems

• Bacterial skin infections

• Ramsay Hunt syndrome if shingles affected the nerves in the face

Prevention

• Avoid touching the rash and blisters of persons with shingles or chickenpox if you have never had chickenpox or the chickenpox vaccine

typicalsevere